Fr Agustinus Sutiono O.Carm

Difficulties, illnesses, sufferings and pains that come our lives seem to something common to everyone. Regardless of the age that we may have, whether we are child, adolescent, mature or elederly, they likely have touched everyone. The common reaction is always the same. Everyone tries to avoid them. When this prudent attempt is not successfull and they keep coming, we do not have other choice except accepting them. While we try to accostum ourself with things unwanted that we cannot avoid, we try to deal with them in many ways in order to keep ourself survive, for example, by seeking for psycological or legal or spiritual advices, undertaking series of medical treatments or therapies. Our experiences show that none is immune from difficulties, problems, illnesses, pains, sufferings. Neither are the righteous, the pious, the good, the virtuous and the most blessed persons. The bad, the naughty and the evil ones are the same. The virtuous and pious Job, the gentle and meek Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and many more saints, and even Jesus and his disciples are no exception.

However, the way how people face those challenges is not always the same. Job thought that he was so blessed that he had so much fortune, beautiful children and tremendous wealth. Then all were gone at a sudden. Even his last belonging, that was his health, was taken away too. He had drawn himself in a profound silence, pondering his very sins. His Friends advised him to quit from being pious and suggested him to curse God and shed his anger or disppointment to him. Some others faithfully accompanied him in his silence. After a long period of struggle he finally came to an understanding. He said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Saint Therese Liseux dealt with her own challenges. Illnesses, the loss of her beloved and other difficulties had turned her into a person with great humility and simplicity who showed a strong trust to the love and mercy of God.

The disciples and Jesus faced rejection from the people of Samaria. On their way to Jerusalem, his messengers entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. Both Jesus and the disciples experienced the same challenge but the way how they reacted to was different. The disciples tried to manipulate the power of Jesus to revenge and to cause destruction to the people of Samaria. But Jesus did not want to misused the power he had. O Lord, grant us a heart that is capable to understand your heart and your love in whatever situations we are going through. Grant us practical knowledge and wisdom that we can act and react wisely. Amen.

Fr Agustinus Sutiono O.Carm

The context today’s gospel reading is the prophecy of Jesus about his upcoming suffering. Jesus taught the disciples about his fate that he would be handed over to men and be killed, and three days after his death, he would rise.” However, they did not understand the saying and were afraid to question him. Instead of seeking for understanding, they discussed on the way something of their own interest, about who was the greatest among themselves.

Glory, honor and wealth are three worldly ideals that most societies commonly mantain to pursue. They are the core of every human enterprise. The voyage and the exploration of the new world in the past carried out three concerns: gold, glory and gospel. The teaching of Jesus today reminds us to those values. It is human and normal to think of gaining glory, honor and wealth. However, as we put ourselves under the title of discipleship to Jesus our spiritual master, we are made aware that we are to pursue the values that Jesus wants us to seek for. It is logical because disciples shall learn and inherit the knowledge, skills, understanding and values that the teacher taught them. Unfortunately, these themes did not gain much of their attention. They had their own agenda towards the amazing Jesus.

They planed to make Jesus into a political leader, a political mesiah. In having so, they could change their own social status and level. In their eyes it was clear that Jesus had won the heart of the people and had the supernatural power. Jesus was just about to reign. So, glory, honor, and wealth were close at their hand. They started to discuss to each other about who would be the greatest among themselves. Knowing that they could not answer his question “What were you arguing about on the way?”, Jesus concluded that they did not understand what they were discussing. He said: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” To make this point clearer, he took a child, placed it in their midst. Putting his arms around it, he said to them: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Greatness and success in God’s eyes are measured differently. They are measured by service. Not on what someone has, but on what someone gives. Our fidelity to the Lord depends on our willingness to serve. We know this often costs, because ‘it tastes like a cross.’ But, as our care and availability toward others grow, we become freer inside, more like Jesus. The more we serve, the more we are aware of God’s presence. To embrace his presence without burdening ourselves with our own dreams and ideals is like to receive and embrace a child in Jesus’ name, as he exemplified. That is the right thing to do as a disciple of Jesus. That is the way to greatness in God’s eyes.

Fr Agustinus Sutiono O.Carm

Just now, we heard from the Gospel how Jesus, after knowing what people said about who he was, asked his disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” It seems that Jesus did not want that his disciples knew who he was on the basis of the terstimony of other people. He wanted that his disciples knew Him personally, through a direct and personal encounter and with a clear conscience, not on the basis of rumours. For this reason, Jesus also warned them not to tell anyone about him after the correct answer that they gave him “You are the Christ of God” towards his question: “Who do you say that I am?”

To have faith in Jesus is only possible if we have the required knowledge about Him. An so is to have faith in God. As Jesus wants us to establish our knowledge and understanding about Him and about God on the basis of personal encounter, we can assure ourself that Jesus expects us to have an intimate, profound and complete knowledge and awareness about his own reality, about the reality of God as far as manifested in his words, thoughts, wills, concerns and works. Jesus and the completeness of His reality include not only the wonders that he made but also the lowest states of being, undertaking faithfully his suffering and death with total obedience.

Only by understanding integrally His ups and downs, we will get the complete knowledge and understanding about Him. From His example of how undertaking these ups and downs, we will have the practical knowledge about how to live in God’s favour. So the complete knowledge about Jesus may include His state of being before the incarnation, the incarnation, and after the period of incarnation.

To follow Jesus is to follow the Father. It means that our discipleship to Jesus consists of a curiculum concerning how to recognise the will of God and how to distinguish it from mere human will. The failing of Peter to recognise God´s will happened when he thought about his own salvation, pleasure, and glory. The suffering of Jesus was to be seen as an integral part of the whole mission of God. Through Jesus, God wants us to know that the right obedience to God is a true worship to Him, a true love to Him, a true faithfulness. May God increase in us the spirit of understanding about His will. Amen.

Fr Agustinus Sutiono O.Carm

The death of Saint John the Baptist is important. His death was the Price of his love to God, to justice, to truth. John reminded Herod for the injustice that he committed. Herod’s power as a tetrach of the region encouraged him to put John to death. Although he did not have the right reason to do it, he permitted the killing of John because he wanted to save his own face from embarrasment before his guests. He devalued and sacrificed the life of John and surrendered himself to injustice, cruelty and to an unreasonable act. However, the death of John was more victorious and noble that the false victory of Herod. Herod was haunted by his own conscience.

Just is the character of God. Justice is His essence. The death of John is only valid for martyrdom because of his fidelity to justice, to the essence of God. It teaches us that a true faithful person to God is not the one who spends so much time in the church praying, but the one who is faithful to the essence of God. This type of faithfulness will only be recognised in actual works and deeds. That is why Saint James teaches us that faith without deeds is pointless. A true faith is justified by conrete acts which represent the heart of God.

In regard to the fact that Herod was haunted by his own conscience, we can learn how our conscience will remind us all the time after the wrongdoing that we have done. Our conscience works before the act takes place, during the ongoing action, and after the action. Before the act, it reminds us about what is good, beneficial, just and right. It gives us advices that help us to discern things before we decide and do or say. During the occurence, our conscience keeps giving us affirmation when things are right and in accord with justice and truth. If what what we do is not right, it reminds us to change our way, to choose what is right and prevents us not to continue. If things are already done, it praises and rewards us with a sense of peace and contentment when all that we do are in accordance with the principle of truth and justice. If what we have done is something wrong in the eyes of God, trespasses the principle of justice and truth, our conscience will accuse us of being unjust and not being righteous. Fear, anxiety and feeling of guilty will be the result of every transgression to the voice of our conscience.